Some residents of Odawna-Sahara, a suburb of Adabraka in Accra whose lives were thought to be in danger after floods submerged their homes following nearly nine hours of rainfall on Thursday refused to be rescued by a combined team of Police and Military officers.

The team of security officers including the Ghana Police Service, the Military, and National Disaster Management Operations (NADMO) were responding to distress calls from affected residents in the Odawna area, prone to floods for poor drainage and bad attitudes. Visit our galleries for more photos of the floods.

But some residents who cited personal reasons such as safeguarding their properties, refused to get on the rescue boat, choosing rather to remain in the sweeping waters. They spurned several entreaties from the rescuers, who eventually had to move on to fetch those willing to be moved to safety.

Chief Superintendent Kwesi Ofori, in-charge of the Adabraka Police station who spoke to Graphic Online said the situation was worrying but admitted the police could use reasonable force to get everybody to safety if the situation was dire.

According to him the residents who refused to be rescued preferred to protect their livestock and other properties in the face of impending danger to their lives which he described as unfortunate.

The heavy downpour which started in the early hours of Thursday flooded low-lying parts of the capital, notably Adabraka, Circle and Airport Residential, Alajo and Teshie Nungua. It also led to severe traffic jams as the rains cut off several roads and streets.